Young voters put housing costs at the center of midterm politics

Housing costs have become the top political issue for U.S. voters ages 18 to 34, according to CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey. For everyday investors, that signals where voter pressure may push policy next: rents, home prices, mortgage costs and the companies tied to the housing market.

The CNBC survey, conducted July 8 to July 12 among 1,000 registered voters, found younger voters ranked housing above food costs and protecting democracy. Men ages 18 to 49 also named housing as their top issue, CNBC reported.

Across all registered voters, housing ranked fourth among the country’s biggest issues, tied with health care at 22% in CNBC’s topline results. Food and grocery prices led at 36%, followed by protecting democracy at 29% and immigration and border security at 25%. Respondents could choose one or two issues. The survey’s margin of error was 3.1 percentage points.

Why housing is cutting through

Housing pressure hits monthly budgets in several ways. Renters face rent increases directly. Homeowners and buyers face mortgage payments, which are affected by home prices and interest rates, plus rising insurance and property tax bills.

A June report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that 49% of renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing. That group totaled 22.7 million households, and 12.1 million of them spent more than half their income on housing, according to the report.

The political impact varies by party. CNBC found Democrats ranked housing as their third-biggest issue, behind food costs and protecting democracy. Independents placed it fourth, after food costs, democracy and immigration. Republicans ranked it lower, with more focus on immigration, food costs and Iran, according to CNBC.

Both parties are trying to claim the issue

Housing has moved into the center of the 2026 midterm debate after Congress passed a bipartisan housing bill in June. CNBC reported that the measure was designed to increase housing supply, reduce the cost of renting or buying, and limit private equity’s role in the housing market.

Republicans control Congress and the White House, but President Donald Trump canceled a planned signing ceremony and declined to sign the bill, calling it a “big yawn,” according to Politico. CNBC reported the bill became law earlier this month without Trump’s signature because of a technicality. Republicans have noted that Trump did not veto the bill.

CNBC’s survey found Democrats held an advantage on the issue. Among all respondents, 38% said Democrats would do a better job on housing, compared with 32% who chose Republicans. Among voters who put housing in their top two issues, 53% said Democrats would handle it better.

Jay Campbell, a partner at Hart Research and the Democratic pollster for the survey, compared housing’s potential role for Democrats to health care in past elections. “I think housing could be the healthcare of 2024, given especially the need for Democrats to turn young people out who are inclined to be anti-Trump and pro-democratic,” Campbell told CNBC.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement that voters are dealing with “rising rents, unaffordable home prices, and costly mortgage rates” under Republican control. National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement that Democrats had “spent years fueling a housing crisis” and that Republicans had acted to build more homes and lower costs.

The housing findings sit inside a broader cost-of-living problem for the White House. CNBC’s survey found 60% of voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy, 68% disapproved of his handling of inflation and cost of living, and 63% disapproved of his handling of Iran. Asked which party they wanted to control Congress after the midterms, voters gave Democrats a 49% to 45% edge over Republicans.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.